Conclusion

Culture course is almost over and all the activities throughout this course have been a great experience for me. You truly learn a lot about cultures and it helps you be open-minded.  We all know that different cultures have different ways of viewing other cultures. Sometimes we have bad stereotypes about others because of their traditions and customs, and that does not help us to understand and respect each other. We have to study about cultures around the world, and bad stereotypes will not affect in a wrong way our points of view about other traditions.  

As Daisaku Ikeda said “People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.” (http://thinkexist.com/quotations/culture/) We have to follow Ikeda´s advice because we will find truly joy helping others and respecting people for what they are.  

Having some many differences regarding traditions, ritual, manners, etiquette, and customs is what make our own culture special. Without differences, there would not be anything to learn from others. Cultures are richness for all of us. They feed our spirit and make us stronger. 

Reaction #8 Islam

On Wednesday November 3^rd, I and my culture class visited the Cultural Muslim Center called Omar located in Calle Blancos, San José, Costa Rica. One of its members gave a speech about their religion. On this day, topics like the five pillars of Islam, the role of the women and men, weddings, among others were discussed.

The five pillars of the Islam are Iman, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, and Hajj. The first pillar is Iman or faith and it is based on the fact that the only purpose of a Muslim´s life is to serve and obey God. As well, the second pillar is Salah which is the name of the five prayers a Muslim must performed during the day.  Prayers are said at dawn, mid-day, late-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. By the way, we had the opportunity to observe them while they were praying.  The third pillar is Zakah which is the 2.5% of a Muslim’s annual capital. Muslims give this money to people who may need it. They help their families first, if they do not need the money, they give it to their neighbors, if no neighbor needs the money,  then, they must find someone in need. The fourth pillar is Sawn. Muslims every year in the month of Ramadan fast from dawn to dusk. Pregnant women, elderly people and women who are menstruating are permitted to break the fast. The last pillar is Hajj which is the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage to Makkah or Mecca is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to do so and must be done at least once during a Muslim lifetime. 

 

Women must use a veil to cover their hair. The veil gives a sense of dignity to a woman. When women are in their house, they do not have to use the veil. Also, when a woman is going to get married, the husband must pay for the wedding expenses and he must buy all the furniture, electronic and so on for the house. It is important for a bride to receive an insurance policy in case of divorce and to ensure her financial independence. Men are able to have multiple wives but they must deal with their wives justly. Something appealing to me that was discussed is that abortion is permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother's life in real danger. Also, it is not very common to adopt a child but if you do so, you can not change the child´s last names. You must keep his or her real name. 

 

Going to this cultural center was a very interesting experience because by listening to them, you can have a total different point of view. Almost all the times what you see on television is not the whole truth about something and you can have a wrong idea of Muslims. All religions are different and that is part of each person´s culture. We have to be tolerant and respect them. If we do so, we can have a better and peaceful world. 

 

 

Reaction #7 Paralinguistic

Non-verbal communications is an important and indispensable element in our lives. Since we are babies, we understand non-verbal communication. Using this way of communication, people can express feelings, attitudes, and emotions. It can be expressed consciously and unconsciously. That is why it is very important not only to study nonverbal behaviors in different cultures but also understand and respect them.

Nonverbal communication can be classified into a series of categories but most classifications divide nonverbal messages into two categories: those that are produced by the body, for instance, facial expressions, eye contact and so on, and those that the individual combines with the setting such as space, time and silence.

Gestures are a very usual way of communicate, you can see people sending messages to others just by waving, placing hands on hips, folding arms, pointing, clenching a fist, shaking a finger, etc. All of these gestures can play an important role in life and as well in culture; they can have different meaning depending on the culture or place.  It is important to learn this before traveling to a country in order to avoid misunderstanding.   Also, facial expression might mean something different from place to place, for example, in many Mediterranean cultures, people exaggerate signs of grief or sadness, but Japanese and Chinese men have a desire to hide public expressions of anger, sorrow, confusion, or disgust. Eye contact is another essential aspect in nonverbal communication and it must be used differently depending on the culture. In some cultures, eye contact means that a person is paying attention, also it expresses emotions, but in other culture people must not see others in the eye because it is not considered polite or even an insult.

Touch is another aspect in daily communication. For example, people in Costa Rica are very friendly so when they meet friends and family, they are used to hug and kiss them, but in European countries this may be consider unusual and people may not feel comfortable with it. Space and distance can affect communication. Many people around the world love their personal space and if you cross that space, they feel you are invading them. Whenever you will visit another place, this aspect must be taken into consideration.

Nonverbal communication can people communicate with other people around the world, but it can also serve to lead to misunderstanding among cultures. It is critical that all of us learn from other culture´s paralinguistic. Learning this can be a great experience and it is very interesting.

Reaction #6 Arranged "Friendship has no religion"

Arranged is the third movie we have seen so far and to be honest it is my favorite. I really like this movie because it shows that friendship can be stronger than any difference between cultures. Many people tend to believe that people from different places and with different traditions and customs can not be friends, but that is not true. A person can put differences aside and get to know someone. This movie is about a Jewish girl named Rajo and a Muslim named Nazira girl and it is based in part of a real life experience.

 Rajo meets Nazira because they are teachers at a public school in Brooklyn.  During the movie, they share a lot of time and become very good friends. They are also going through arranged marriages because of their religions. Rajo´s family tries to set up some dates for her but all of the guys she dated were very different from what she really likes, she talks to her mom about the fact that she does not want to go on dates for a while, however, her mother is really concern about this because if Rajo does not get married, she is going to delay her sister´s wedding as well.   On the other hand, Nazira´s arranged wedding is going pretty well because she likes the man her family chose for her.

One day, Nazira goes with Rajo to her brother´s university to give him a book he needs, in her brother´s study group is a Jewish guy and Rajo likes him a lot but there was no way she can actually date him. Nazira pretends she is taking a journalist course and asks the Jewish guy some questions. She took also a picture of him and prepares his resume. Nazira stops by the house of the woman who is arranging Rajo´s date and gives her the resume she had prepared. Because of Nazira, Rajo´s goes on a date with the Jewish. At the end of the film, both girls get married and they have babies.

This movie actually makes you aware that people from other cultures can become very close friends in despite of their differences. Also, traditions such as arranged marriages can work out for people and they are very happy couple for the rest of the life. We have to be very open-minded and respect all cultures.